


Lights that Guide the Lost

by Cempagaldre



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Feelings, Fluff, Kidnapping, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Violence, the good stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 04:04:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cempagaldre/pseuds/Cempagaldre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stiles finds himself kidnapped, locked up and struggling for survival, his mind repeatedly wanders to the one person that has been a constant source of distraction to him for the last months of his life. He can’t die, not yet. He needs to survive. He needs to get back. Chance arrives when an unusual companion turns up to light his way out …</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lights that Guide the Lost

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I have ever finished and I really hope people enjoy reading it. The TW fandom is the best ever and I wanted to write something just because I felt the need to add something to the fandom myself.

Pain was pulsating through his entire body. The cold metal underneath him seemed to soothe the burning of his wounds but Stiles knew he’d have a whole new set of bruises to match those he still had from that night with Gerard. At least he’d be able to hide these if he ever got back.

If …

They’d been driving for several minutes already and the droning sound of the van’s engine was giving him a serious headache. Only moments ago, he had simply been driving home from yet another private lacrosse practice with Scott. Just minding his own business when he was blocked by a van and a pick-up truck. It was already dark and the van’s headlights blinded him just long enough to miss the three men coming up to his car until they were already too close. He still tried to look for a way out, but he couldn’t find one. He stepped out, ready to talk his way out of whatever the hell kind of trouble he was in, when he noticed the men were carrying guns, crossbows and baseball bats. 

He didn’t really have a chance.

Stiles should have been happy that they didn’t immediately attack him with their arsenal of deadly weapons, but he was too busy being kicked in the gut to care. He didn’t understand why they were attacking him, let alone why they brought all those weapons just for him. That was until one of them shouted, “Take that, you freak of nature!” and another one said, “I never knew werewolves were this weak. What the hell is the Argents’ problem?”

So they thought he was a werewolf. Figures. Stiles wanted to say something, to laugh it away by saying that this was all clearly a misunderstanding. But only blood and a single whimper escaped his mouth when he opened it. One minute later, he was still on the ground, beaten and bruised, and they had started to tie his hands and legs together. They carried him to the van, sneering and insulting him, but he couldn’t understand a thing they said. 

They’d been driving for a while now and he’d had enough time to measure up the damage. He could feel a lot of bruises and there was definitely blood on the hem of his shirt, but it didn’t feel like he had broken anything. So that was good, right? That was Stiles, always the optimist. 

But what the hell were they planning on doing with him? If they saw that he wasn’t a werewolf, would they just let him go? Stiles could be an optimist, but he wasn’t delusional. He couldn’t stop the muffled, nervous laughter from escaping his mouth. A few minutes later, the van came to a stop. He heard one of the hunters warning the other two to be ready for a struggle because werewolves apparently had the ability to heal their wounds. 

When they opened the back doors of the van, one of them had a flashlight aimed at Stiles. When his eyes adjusted, the men before him looked ready to do some serious damage, and Stiles just looked at them. The hunters may not have known a lot about their own job, but they were still dangerous. He knew he had to watch out. 

The youngest of them (at least that was what Stiles thought, the guy was still built like a vending machine) spoke first, “Wait, shouldn’t his wounds have healed by know?” 

Well thanks a fucking lot for that sharp observation, Captain Obvious! Stiles understood that these guys weren’t the brightest hunters around, but this was just ridiculous. He knew his life was in danger, he knew they could kill him, but he couldn’t stop himself from speaking up. 

“Well, let’s look at the facts, shall we.” He raised a closed hand as to count his following points. “One. Werewolves can heal their wounds very quickly. Two. Humans cannot.” After a small pause to see if they were getting it (from the looks of sheer bafflement, he’d guess they weren’t), he continued, “Three. You guys beat the crap out of me. Four. I’m still wounded.”

They were gaping at him with blank expressions, as if the already cooked meal on the plate in front of them had suddenly started talking to them. As it didn’t seem like any of them had made the link yet, Stiles decided to make it easy for them. 

“Maybe that’s because I’m not a freaking werewolf!” They were still frozen in place and he was wondering if maybe something was malfunctioning in their heads. Middle earth trolls seemed to have more intelligence than these guys. “I’m a human, you idiots!”

That seemed to break them out of whatever stupor they were in. The two youngest were sporting some seriously confused expressions and looked at whom was probably their leader. He seemed absolutely livid, probably pissed off about their mistake. There was something very unsettling about that look, and Stiles’ anger was converting to something else. He kept his face clear of expression as the hunter came closer and yelled at him.

“Then why were you with those werewolves? I’ve had my eyes on you, kid! You’ve been around the Beacon Hills pack for some time.” 

Damn it! Stiles shouldn’t have gotten angry. Now, they already knew that he knew about the existence of werewolves, so he couldn’t play the scared, innocent kid anymore. Before he could think about a good response, he was pulled out of the van and the ropes around his ankles and wrists were cut. He looked up suspiciously.

“You’re letting me go?” It didn’t hurt to hope, right?

Nonetheless, that hopefulness was immediately shattered when the older guy just gave him a foul grin and glared at the other two. “Take him inside. Lock him in the storage room.”

The large decrepit building was something Stiles hadn’t even noticed until they were pushing him towards it. It looked like an old factory or a warehouse of some sort. As they were going through the front doors, he was just happy that he could still walk and breath normally. It hurt like hell but Stiles could appreciate the little things. There probably wasn’t any electricity in the place and if it weren’t for the flashlights, it would have been pitch black. They passed several halls before they stopped in front of a sturdy metal door. Stiles had looked around for a way out, but he knew he wouldn’t get far with his wounds. They pushed him inside and slammed the door shut. Stiles heard the sound of the lock clicking and could see the light gradually disappearing from the gap under the door. 

It was like his eyes were closed, and heck, they might as well have been. Everything had gone dark. He heard the hunters mumbling but couldn’t make out any words. He held his hands in front of him and tried to feel his way to the wall across from the door. When he reached it, he slumped down and pulled his legs close, wrapping his arms around them. 

The darkness was creeping up on him and Stiles finally felt despair taking the upper hand. Now that he was completely cornered, what use was there for cynicism and tenacity (a combination that had not failed him in the past, though). No one knew he’d been taken. They probably wouldn’t even notice before … Before what? He tried to ignore the little voice in his head telling him that nobody was coming to save him and that he could be dead in a matter of minutes.

Suddenly, he spotted the faint flicker of fire underneath the door. He made himself focus on the hunters’ voices again in an attempt to ignore his dark thoughts. His captors must have settled down and it sounded like they were having a heated discussion. He tried to make out the words and failed miserably until one of the man yelled out hard enough.

“What is there to discuss?! We need to kill him!”

The voices continued speaking, but Stiles didn’t … couldn’t care anymore. He let his head fall down and pushed his knees into his eyes to stop the tears already welling up in them. Clamping his eyes shut, he tried to stop them. He couldn’t let himself break down this easily… Damn it!

It had finally happened. He had finally gotten in a corner so tight that nothing could save him. He was going to die. He’d seen the hunters’ faces and they probably didn’t want to risk him telling the police about them. His breathing became more erratic. His heart beat faster. He was going to leave behind everyone he cared about. All of his friends. Scott would be ruined without him, but not as much is it would destroy his father. Bitter anger contorted his face and insistent tears had finally broken the dam. And Derek …

He’d never be able to tell Derek how he really felt about him. How he knew what he had gone through and that all he wanted was for the guy to laugh once in a while. At first, Stiles had thought he was just physically attracted to the guy, who in the right mind wouldn’t be? Yet he had later realized that there was more to it, even if he didn’t know the dude that well yet. 

Even so, he had already reconciled with the fact that he’d probably never have the nerve to say it anyway. He didn’t think, however, that the opportunity would be completely snagged away from him like this. Stiles sniffed the dust filled air and a painful smirk further twisted his facial features as the following thought went through his head. Derek would never have the chance to awkwardly tell him he’s not interested. To then ignore him for several weeks before they would be able to be around each other again without it being too weird. 

Stiles could feel the dampness on the bare skin of his knees as his tears seeped through his jeans. Every inch of his body hurt, and that wasn’t just because he’d been beaten up. He lifted his head to adjust his position, opening his eyes for one second and … saw the room bathing in light. Confused, he painfully lurched to his feet to fight off the hunters with everything he had left as he expected to see them in full armament in front of him. 

But … the door was still locked. When he noticed the actual source of the sudden brightness, he almost fell down from surprise. 

A small orb of light was emitting a warm light blue glow. It was hovering to his left and languidly moved in front of his eyes. 

“What the hell?” He muttered, with his mouth slightly open. The light just kind of floated there in front of him. It didn’t seem dangerous at all, so after a minute of distrusting stares, Stiles held out his hand. When the orb moved towards him, he wanted to pull his hand back but forced it to stay in place. 

Squinting his eyes in fear of his hand abruptly going up in flames, he was surprised by the warm and kind feeling coming from it. Stiles laughed uneasily at this new development and finally pulled his hand back. He didn’t know why, but for some reason he felt hopeful again. If only for a bit. 

What was that thing?

Suddenly, the light hurried away from him and disappeared into the wall on the left. The room was completely dark again and for a moment Stiles thought he had imagined it, that he was losing his mind. But then, just as quick as it had disappeared, the blue light returned into the room through the same wall. It went in and out three more times before Stiles finally came close enough to notice that there was a large metal plate resting against the otherwise concrete wall. The light was hanging right next to his head when he felt across the side of the plate to discover that it was unattached. He pried it off and dropped it on the ground as softly as he could. The thing weighed a literal ton (okay not really, but it was still really heavy) and he almost dropped it when a sudden burst of pain came from his elbow. 

When he saw the large hole in the wall, clear in the blue shine, Stiles couldn’t believe his luck. He moved through with his companion, moved through the following hallway and kept walking until he reached a corridor flashing in the light of a fire. He could hear the hunters talking clearly now as they were just around the corner. He also realized he would have to pass in their line of sight for a moment if he wanted to get out. He was looking for another way, when the light suddenly moved into another wall. Stiles immediately checked it for another hole or ventilation shaft maybe, but there was nothing. It was just a concrete wall. Had the thing left him behind? Had it realized that he’d never get out of there alive anyways? Besides, what reason did it have to get him out of there in the first place?

He was startled by the distant sound of glass breaking from around the corner. He moved closer and heard their voices. 

“What was that?!” An unnerved sounding voice reverberated through the hallways. Another replied, “I swear I locked the door. You saw me do it! There’s no way he could have escaped! C’mon, let’s go check it out.” 

Reluctantly, Stiles looked around the corner to see the last of the hunters disappear from sight. Despite the darkness, he hurried back to the entrance of the building without making too much noise. Outside, he never thought he could have ever been so happy just to see the sky again, to breathe in the cool night air. His relief only lasted for five seconds when he was shaken by a loud shouting coming from inside the building.

So much for his stealthy escape.

There was no time to lose and Stiles forced himself to concentrate on what to do. Looking around, he only saw a lot of trees and a wide dirt road. Taking the road would leave him too exposed, so he ran into the forest as quickly as his legs could carry him. He kept moving until the dark shape of the building was no longer visible and he was completely surrounded by undergrowth and trees. All he could hear was his own loud breathing, his heart hammering in his chest. He just decided to move onward as he tripped over a root. 

Well aware of the pain coursing through his body, Stiles tried to push himself up again. He almost succeeded, up until a stab of pain in his right elbow surprised him again, and he fell down, his face hitting the dry earth. 

He had no idea where he was anyway. Even if he got up, where would he go?

Memories from only hours ago were flooding his mind. How glad he was that he could finally practice some lacrosse with Scott without having to worry about anything. How he’d had dinner with his dad before that and felt like they were doing better again, like they used to before the whole werewolf business. He had so many happy memories of them and they went through his mind at incredible speed. 

That night at the warehouse was the last time he had seen Derek. He didn’t have that many memories with him. Not ‘happy’ ones, really. Though there were good ones. 

He remembered the first time he saw Derek. He remembered the time when he decided to hide from the police in his room and was shamelessly showing of his muscular torso so that Danny would help them. Okay, so maybe not shamelessly, and maybe he didn’t know about Stiles’ intentions at the time, but still, he liked that memory a lot. Even if Derek had hit his head against the steering wheel afterwards. It had been worth it. 

Fuck! Stiles was angry with himself for thinking like that. Like it was over, like he was already done for. But what could he do? He was in the middle of an unknown forest, possibly being followed by hunters, and he didn’t even have the strength to get back up.

A light blue gleam on the ground in front of him shook him from his reverie. He looked up as it flew towards him and … through him. As the warmth settled in his limbs, Stiles felt stronger again. Standing up wasn’t all that difficult anymore. The light moved away from him, gliding past the trees, and Stiles followed it.

It had helped him a lot already. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was somehow responsible for the glass breaking distraction that gave him enough time to make it out of the building. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to go somewhere, and since the light was offering …

After a few minutes of stumbling through the forest to keep up with the one light in the darkness, Stiles could feel the pain settling back in his legs. He needed to focus on something else, so he thought about the one person that had distracted him the most lately. 

He thought back to when they went to save Isaac when he was in custody. How he had once again been paired up with Derek. How Derek had saved him from his wolfed out beta and then smugly assured him of his alphahood. How he returned the favor to Derek when he kept him up in the pool for so long. … How much it actually hurt him when Derek said they didn’t trust each other. How hard he had tried to keep them alive. And then, the look Derek gave him when they were safe and outside of the school again … Derek had no idea what those looks did to him. 

The blue light became stronger again and Stiles noticed he’d been standing still for a while. Had it actually come back to make sure he was still following? After a modest smile, he went back to pursuing his one companion. 

To prevent the pain from coming back, he fled back into his own mind. He thought of the night they discovered Matt was in control of the kanima. How much he feared for his dad’s life when they were at Matt’s mercy. How glad he was to see Derek and, an instant later, how afraid he was when Derek fell to the ground paralyzed. With a blush he kept in mind how awkwardly turned on he was for a fraction of a second when they were lying on the ground together. It didn’t last long as their lives’ were in danger of course. But still … 

Yet again, his mind turned to darker things. 

He thought about the fact that no one saved him from Gerard. Heck, that no one even knew where he was to begin with! Stiles wanted to believe that this light was leading him to safety, that he’d get home and he’d see his friends again. He wanted to survive, he needed to survive and that’s why he would keep going. But they had been walking for what felt like an hour already. The blue light was still floating on ahead, and it didn’t seem like they were getting anywhere. Just trees after trees after trees. 

His legs were losing strength and sometimes the agony became so much that he had to stop himself from falling down. He had to keep walking, because he knew that the next time he fell down, he wouldn’t be able to get up again. He thought about Lydia. How he always seemed to fall for people who could never feel the same for him. How that became crystal clear the night they beat Gerard and saved Jackson. 

The memory of how he and Derek were the last ones there at the warehouse after all of the others had left, made him smile weakly. He was just about to get into his jeep when Derek said his name and asked him about his wounds. He could still recall the anger in Derek’s eyes when he told him what Gerard did. Hey, Stiles was only human, right? Derek shouldn’t be pissed just because he was too weak to fight off a senior citizen. 

But that night, he had also seen the hurt in Derek’s eyes when he realized Scott didn’t trust him enough to let him in on his plan. To reassure Derek (because let’s be honest, the guy could do with some reassuring now and then), he confessed to him that Scott hadn’t even told him about it. That he hadn’t even told his best friend. And Stiles had said it in only slightly spitefully. He would forgive Scott, like he always did of course. Derek looked indecipherable for a while. His sudden expression of sympathy quickly disappeared and was replaced by a grin. “Scott’s an idiot.” he had said. And Stiles just laughed at him in response. He liked that moment. Where he and Derek actually acted like they could be friends. That’s all he really wanted … okay, he wanted more, but still. Now he wouldn’t even get that. 

The light stopped hovering a while further and Stiles quickly closed in on it. He looked around but there was nothing to see. The clearing they were in was still completely surrounded by trees and he had no idea where he was. 

“Are you freaking kidding me?” He asked the thing not really expecting an answer. “Why did you take me here? Did you really bring me all the way out here just so I can die in a nice little clearing in the woods?”

What had been the point? The thing had helped him so he trusted it. It was all he could do, but now he felt stupid for following the mysterious light and just having hoped for the best. 

He slumped against a tree because he couldn’t stay up any longer. Without a path to follow, the pain was overwhelming. The light just hovered around the clearing like it was waiting for him to do something, but Stiles couldn’t bring himself to investigate anymore. He closed his eyes and felt coldness settle around him. 

His thoughts returned to that night at the warehouse. After laughing, Stiles told Derek that Scott might be an idiot, but that he was still his idiot best friend. Derek just huffed at that and scolded Stiles for his irrational loyalty. He had raised an eyebrow and said, “And look where it’s gotten you.” gesturing to the wound on his face. His hand coming really close to it and then backing of again. 

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Stiles answered, “I can handle a little pain if I can still help my friends.” 

Derek raised an eyebrow and looked at him incredulously. Stiles smirked. “Okay, I can handle a lot of pain. I may look weak, but when I bring the thunder, people better watch out.” He jumped into a fighting pose.

When Derek grinned this time, Stiles couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever seen him laugh that much. Okay, it wasn’t really laughing, but … 

“You’re not …” Derek began, and then stayed quiet for a moment with a more serious expression. “I … I’m pretty sure your friends don’t like seeing you get hurt. I’m pretty sure they need you more than you think.” 

What the hell? Why was Derek going all Dr. Phil on him. Did he really look that miserable? 

Raising his eyebrows, Stiles just grinned smugly. “I didn’t know you cared that much.” 

Derek snorted and walked away. He lift his hand as to say goodbye and only said, “Go home, Stiles. And try to stay out of trouble.” 

When Derek was gone from sight, Stiles noticed he was still staring ahead. He was happy because maybe they really could become friends now that their troubles were finally over. 

Only they weren’t over. Stiles had been kidnapped and beaten to an inch of his life (again) and was about to die alone in the middle of a forest. He opened his eyes to see the blue light glowing a lot less intense than before. It still shed a bit of light, but it didn’t look like it would be around for much longer. 

“You too, huh?” He coughed and tried to sit up more. “Well at least I won’t die alone. Thanks, weird light ball-thingy. This was fun.” He narrowed his eyes and let them become unfocused as he wanted to forget where he was and think about the past some more. The sky was becoming brighter. It must have been getting closer to morning already. He must have been going through the forest for a lot longer than he thought. 

But all of a sudden, it was getting a lot clearer. Not slowly like it does when dawn was just around the corner. Besides, the light was more of a dusk red than the morning pale. 

His eyes were still half closed and he forced them to open completely to see if he had really blacked out for hours to wake up at dusk, still alive. It was strange because he was sure he hadn’t lost consciousness yet. When he looked, he saw that he was right, because the sky was still black as night and so were the trees around the clearing. It confused the hell out of him until he noticed a red ball of light excitedly circling around his nearly vanished blue companion. 

“Looks like you made a friend.” Stiles managed a painful smile. “Good for you, Bluey.” 

He closed his eyes again but opened them immediately when he heard an alarmed voice. A voice he recognized. 

“Stiles?”, it said.

Out of the darkness, a man entered the clearing, becoming visible in the soft red light. 

It took Stiles a lot of effort to find his voice. “Derek? How…?” 

Derek spotted him and rushed towards him. He crouched down and started inspecting his wounds. He touched his hip without hesitation and Stiles could feel the pain flow out of his body. When the sensation stopped, he looked up at Derek and tried to focus on what was happening.

“How did you find me? I don’t even know where I am.” 

Derek glanced momentarily at the red light that was now more calmly hovering around the weak blue shine. “I don’t know. I was at the house when something … felt wrong. I went outside for a while and suddenly that red thing came out of the forest. It kept going to the tree line and back to me, so I thought it wanted me to follow.” He paused. “I didn’t really trust it of course, but it didn’t feel bad, so .. I did. I was just about to head back when it stopped here and …” 

He shrugged and looked at Stiles’ wounds again. “What happened to you?” His voice became slightly upset as if he had only then noticed all of the bruises for the first time. 

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Stiles thought about what had happened. He had let himself get caught. He had let himself get hurt again. But he wasn’t going to lie. 

“Hunters.” Derek looked even more furious then. “They caught me. Thought I was a werewolf and …” 

Derek gripped his wrist harder. “Stiles …” 

Stiles swallowed again, hoping to finally get the dryness from his throat. “They were thinking about killing me when … when that blue light appeared.” 

When he pointed to the barely visible blue light near the ground, Derek looked at it like he had overlooked it completely up to that point. “It got me away from the hunters and led me here to this place. It stopped and I had no idea where I was. I couldn’t keep going so …”

He didn’t want to see Derek’s face, but when he did, Derek looked angry … and oddly worried. Stiles only felt embarrassed. He’d done it again. He’d almost died again. 

But then, Derek’s expression softened and he got closer to him. “You’re going to be fine, Stiles.” And Stiles knew he would be. All this time he had thought he was going to die, and all he needed was for Derek to say that and he knew he’d make it. “I’m going to pick you up and get you to a hospital.” 

His arms were already under Stiles’ knees and back, when Stiles brusquely said, “I’m sorry.” 

Derek froze. “You had to come all this way because I got into trouble again.” He only received a downright perplexed look from Derek and continued, “But … thanks. For coming after me.” 

He couldn’t look Derek in the eyes anymore. This was all his fault. 

Suddenly, Derek’s hand pushed Stiles chin up, forcing him to look at him. His eyes were filled with rage and he looked like he was trying his best to control it. C’mon! Stiles knew he’d almost died again, but it wasn’t like he went looking for trouble … this time at least. 

The urgency in Derek’s speaking surprised him. “It’s not your fault! It’s all m—“ He stopped for a second and breathed out slowly while blinking his eyes repeatedly, “They thought you were a werewolf because you’re always with us, Stiles. You got hurt because of us. Again”. The last word was stronger and more frustrated than the others. 

No. Stiles knew where this was going. He wouldn’t let the conversation head into that direction. “Derek, you said it yourself. I’m going to be fi—“ 

“Yes, you’re going to be fine! But what if this happens again, Stiles? Again and again. As long as you’re with us, you’ll be a target. As long as you’re with us, you’ll get hurt!”. Derek looked absolutely miserable and that confused Stiles even more. Maybe Derek did see him as a friend. Maybe … 

“Stop.” Stiles had enough of it. He’d gone through too much already for one night. “Don’t tell me to stay away from you all, because I’d never be able to do that. You should know me well enough to realize that by now.” 

Derek started, “But that’s exactly why you need to—“ 

“No, Derek! I can’t stay away. I can’t stay in the dark while you guys are in danger. Not knowing if you’ll be alright or not! Not knowing if I’ll ever see you again.” At that moment, Stiles decided. He knew this wasn’t about the whole pack anymore. Well it was. He was worried about them too, especially Scott, but he was talking to Derek now. About Derek. He’d almost died knowing that he’d never had the chance to tell him the truth. He didn’t want to make that mistake again. Knowing his life, he’d better not wait any longer. Derek had been staring at him with a look wavering between helplessness and concern. Stiles breathed in deeply. 

“You can’t expect me to do that. I won’t. I’ll always stand by your side, even if it hurts me. I’ve come to care too much about you guys. I … I care too much about you.” Stiles couldn’t stop his voice from breaking in that last part and he saw Derek’s eyes fill up with shocked disbelief. 

Well, crap. 

Derek was going to awkwardly tell him that he’d bring him to the hospital and then he’d never see him again because it would be too weird for the both of them and—. 

“Stiles” Derek almost shouted his name as he looked him straight in the eyes. “Do you … When you say you … do you mean that you …” His struggling with words would have been hilarious if it hadn’t been at Stiles’ expense. 

He dared himself to look up into Derek’s eyes. His scientifically inexplicable, beautiful eyes. “Yes. For a while now, I …” Derek looked absolutely terrified by now. But Stiles had said what he wanted to say. At least now he wouldn’t have to lie about it anymore. 

“C’mon, dude! You’re a werewolf. You must have smelt it on me. How could you not know?” 

Derek’s voice was hushed, almost vulnerable. “How didn’t … No, I didn’t know. I didn’t …”. 

Stiles already felt the hole in his heart getting bigger, but he needed this out of the way. If he was going to get his life back on track, he needed to bear through this. 

“Look, I get it. I get that you’re not interested. You don’t have to say anything. Just … I still want to stay friends with you. Lately, I had a feeling that we were getting closer and I don’t want all of this to turn awkward just because I …” He was at a loss for words and he felt utterly miserable. “I just don’t want you to ignore me. Now that you know. I wouldn’t—“ 

But Stiles couldn’t finish that sentence. He didn’t even know where he was going with it anymore. Not that it mattered, because the moment Derek’s lips touched his, it was like every coherent thought he’d ever had disappeared with the entire world around them. Everything but the two of them. 

He was too stunned by what was happening to really respond in any way. He was being kissed. By Derek Hale. It was a sweet kiss. Gentle. The innocence of it so peculiar, so unlike the ‘Derek’ Stiles had known in the past year. Yet at the same time, it felt familiar and right. This was the ‘Derek’ Stiles hoped to see one day, the person who he always thought existed beneath that rigid exterior. By the time he finally collected his thoughts and was able to return the kiss, it was already over. Derek backed off a bit and looked him in the eyes like he was searching for something, like he was looking straight into his soul. Derek’s lips. Stiles was just staring at them. Thinking about how they shouldn’t be there, but back against his own. Only then did he actually realize what the hell just happened. 

“Wait! How?” He didn’t know what to say first. “Why did you … Huh?” 

Derek gave him a slight grin and … and he was blushing just the tiniest bit. Stiles never thought he’d see the day, but there it was. He was an alpha werewolf! He wasn’t allowed to blush. 

After a couple of seconds, Derek said, “I didn’t know. I thought you … I thought you were afraid of me. And that was fine. I needed you to stay away from me because I thought,” He paused again as if the words were hard to express. “you’d never feel the same way about me as I felt about you.” 

Stiles felt like he was hit by a freight train and struggled for words once more. “When? And God, why even? I mean look at you. You’re ridiculous. Why the hell would you be interested in me?” 

Derek’s little grin was back and Stiles wanted it to stay there for the rest of his life. He never imagined seeing anyone else happy like that could make him feel such an abundance of joy as well. 

“Don’t put yourself down like that. You’re smart, loyal, reliable and a lot stronger than you think.” He said, eyes filled with truth and resolve.

“Oh please, do stroke me ego some more.” Stiles seemed to have completely forgotten all of his bruises and pain. “But still, look at you Derek. I mean, have you seen you? I don’t even know if you own a mirror or anything, but …” 

Letting out a long, deep breath, Derek rolled his eyes but was clearly entertained. “Stiles.” He said with a low rumbling voice that set his heart on fire. “You have no idea what you look like to me. What you smell like.” Derek licked his lips and moved his eyes from the ground to Stiles’ face and back down again. “God, the things you’ve done to me … That’s why I tried to stay away.” 

Another freight train crashed into Stiles. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Someone actually liked him, liked the entirety of him. Someone that wasn’t obligated because of family ties or the bro-code. Sure he knew he was awesome, but people were usually repelled by his extreme degree of awesomeness. 

“That’s kind of creepy.” He said, and Derek was slightly blushing again as if he hadn’t really wanted to admit what he just said. But Stiles only grinned. “I like that.” 

Okay, Stiles changed his mind then. He no longer wanted to see those small grins on Derek’s face for his entire life, because now Derek was absolutely beaming. Small crinkles forming at the side of his eyes. He had never seen him so happy. It was like a hole in his chest was filled to the brim and ready to burst. Derek should always look like that. 

“I just can’t believe it.” Stiles said as he looked down for a while because Derek’s expression was too overwhelming. “I’ve been feeling like this for some time now. But I never thought … How is this real?”

“Stiles, a magic light just saved your life and led you here. At the same time, another magic light decided to lead me to the same spot. Do you see what I’m getting at?” 

The red ball of light was still emitting its warm, safe light all over the clearing, drifting just alongside its faint blue friend. Stiles nodded. “I guess it means that it’s real then? When even random magical orbs are trying to get us together …” 

Derek kept smiling and said, “Nope. It means that this is clearly all a dream because it’s all way too fucking surreal. In a while you’re probably going to wake up and it’ll be like nothing happened.” 

Wait a minute! Stiles was shocked. Derek wasn’t allowed to be funny. This was completely unacceptable. “Don’t even joke about that! If that’s true, the first thing I do when I wake up is find your sorry face and kiss the hell out of it.” 

Raising his eyebrows, Derek seemed hesitant at first, but then said, “Why wait?” and he closed the space between them and kissed Stiles again. 

This time, he was prepared. He still couldn’t believe this was actually happening. But Stiles was kissing him back. He opened his mouth to allow his tongue access into Derek’s. He wanted to explore every inch of that mouth, but Derek beat him to it. As soon as his mouth opened, Derek’s tongue invaded him. Again, everything around Stiles just vanished and all he could focus on was how warm and good Derek felt. How his stubble scraped his skin and how nothing in his life had ever felt so right. How Derek’s hands were moving across his hip and his neck constantly pulling him closer. The first kiss had been nice and careful, but this was something completely different. Stiles could feel Derek’s mouth taking the shape of a smile and he couldn’t help but return it with one of his own. 

He didn’t know if he was any good at kissing, but the small moans escaping from Derek’s mouth at least indicated that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Stiles had one hand moving along the side of Derek’s face and one clutching his shirt as if he was afraid to let go. And maybe he was afraid to let go. When Derek’s teeth raked Stiles’ lower lip, he could no longer suppress a deep, longing moan of his own. He brought his hand to the nape of Derek’s neck and stroked the small hairs there. He pulled Derek even closer. So close in fact that Stiles thought they might have been on the verge of merging into a new, single being. He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that it hadn’t been enough when Derek started to back up a bit. 

Stiles wanted to close the space between them again as quickly as possible. Breathing deeply, Derek opened his eyes and briefly looked at Stiles’ lips, before moving up to his eyes again. He gasped as if he’d just run a marathon, which Stiles totally understood of course. He was hot stuff. And so was Derek, so he felt it too. 

An alternating shine of red and blue was dancing on their faces. Stiles was already speechless from what just happened, but the lights’ reflection in Derek’s already ridiculous eyes left him completely mesmerized as well. How those eyes succeeded in being even more beautiful than they had already been, Stiles couldn’t understand. But he felt himself falling deep into them and he wanted to watch them for all eternity. 

“Jesus, Stiles.” Derek’s breathing was still fast and deep, and Stiles couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen him out of breath. 

Looking intently at Derek’s mouth, he instantly wanted to kiss him again. He had thought about Derek for so long, about so many things. As he was closing the distance again and licking his lips, he abruptly stopped and groaned from the sudden pain at his thigh. 

Derek looked at him concerned and … a little disappointed. Stiles wanted to kiss that expression right of his face. “No no no! It’s fine.” He grimaced. “Shit. Can we please return to the kissing. I especially enjoyed the part where our lips were touching. Remember? Those were some good times.” 

When Derek moved one arm under Stiles’ legs and another under his back, he smirked and backed up some more. “We need to get you to a hospital.” 

“But I …” 

“When you’re fixed up, we can … continue from where we left.” He said, teasing Stiles with a look that melted him from the inside out. 

Derek picked him up and he wasn’t even embarrassed by the fact that he was being carried bridal style. If anything, it turned him on even more. He could feel the warmth exuding from Derek’s body through the thin layer of his black T-shirt. He could feel the carved outline of Derek’s torso in his side and it was driving him crazy. He still sensed the ghost of Derek’s lips on his own, still wet and red and wanting. Derek was so close to him. He just needed to move a little bit and … 

Moving his eyes up, Stiles noticed that Derek looked absolutely wrecked. His eyes were wide and glazed. He was blushing again and looked unbelievably flustered. “Stiles, I … I honestly can’t believe how I never smelt this on you before.” Stiles smiled at that. “But could you please … contain yourself for a while.” Derek looked away from him and swallowed. “Your scent, it’s … I won’t be able to control myself if you …”. 

Why the hell would Derek tell him that? Now he was even more turned on and he could see Derek struggling. The sudden pain in his thigh, however, forced him to calm down a bit. After a long silence, Stiles thought that talking might help. 

“You do realize I’m still not going to back off from you guys, right? I’m not getting pushed to the sidelines.” 

Derek looked at him again and his voice was more resolute than ever. “With the way you constantly attract trouble, I doubt I’ll ever be able to keep you out of it.” 

He was happy that Derek understood, but also hoped that, at least for a while, trouble wouldn’t be able to find Beacon Hills. 

”But you don’t have to worry.” Derek looked forward again and his eyes were burning with determination (or was that still lust?). “Because I’ll be there to protect you.” 

And Stiles believed every word of it, because Derek really had been protecting him for a long time already. Never before in his life had he felt safer than at that moment in Derek’s arms. He didn’t need the patented werewolf lying detector to know it was the truth. Nothing had ever been more important to him. Nothing had ever been more certain for him. Sure, whatever this was between them, whatever it would be in the future, it would not be without consequences and difficulties. They both had their emotional baggage and Stiles was sure that not everybody was going to be okay with this. But this was their moment and nothing would ruin it. For the first time in a while, he felt like he belonged, like he was supposed to be exactly where he was. That feeling made him daringly confident of the future. Their future. 

As they were walking away (well, technically, only Derek was doing any walking), Stiles talked about the fact that he didn’t really need any protection. That he was awesome enough by himself and that he had actually saved Derek’s life as well. At first, Derek grumbled at that and answered that he’d have made it out of those situations without Stiles’ help as well. But after a vivid recap of some past events from Stiles ( _with_ sound effects, naturally), he all but reluctantly admitted to it. Without looking back, they had abandoned the clearing, leaving behind not two, but one slowly fading purple light.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic (and basically my desire to start writing) was instigated by many friends I got to know through the fandom. And for this I really want to thank them, particularly Silvarbelle for her unwavering support, and saintdoriangray and sourandsarcasm for being awesome and supportive in their own wonderful way as well. 
> 
> Comments will make my day and I'll definitely respond to them as quickly as possible. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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